He played Ixta in the Doctor Who story The Aztecs in 1964, for which he was interviewed for the DVD release in 2002. In 2012, he returned to Doctor Who to play Nadeyan in the Big Finish audio drama 'Dark Eyes'. He holds the record for the longest gap between acting in two Doctor Who stories, at 48 years.

He trained at RADA with a scholarship when he was 16. As well as his acting commitments, Ian has run a very successful youth drama group in Surrey (Surrey Heath Young Actors Company) for many years. Ian has also written several television series, films and radio plays. He lives with his wife Yvonne who is also an actress and drama teacher.